


The Practice Date

by LostCassilda



Series: Stocking x Brief: Unrequited [1]
Category: Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt
Genre: Amusement Parks, Best Friends, F/M, Oblivious, One-Sided Attraction, POV Third Person, fake date
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-30
Updated: 2020-09-30
Packaged: 2021-03-07 19:46:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,706
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26723110
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LostCassilda/pseuds/LostCassilda
Summary: Brief begged Stocking to take her out on a practice date, and Stocking despite crushing on this fool was too weak to say no.
Relationships: Anarchy Stocking/Briefers "Brief" Rock
Series: Stocking x Brief: Unrequited [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1944892
Comments: 2
Kudos: 11





	The Practice Date

The world spun around Stocking, and she stared blankly ahead neither amused nor dizzy. She took to leaning back and reclining her arms on the rim of the teacup and saw no reason to stir. Brief on the other hand exerted himself greatly, spinning the wheel in the middle even until he went red in the face. His company and the pretty colors painted on this ride were the only things she’d call decent. She’d driven at much greater speeds than this and had been thrown even faster. Nothing about this was fun. 

Once the ride ended, she wasted no time in stoically walking off of it, Brief wobbling after her. They moved further away from the other guests and under the shade of a tree Briefers Rock braced himself against it to catch his breath. He wiped the sweat from his brow and in the process revealed dazzling emerald eyes and let his mouth form into something of a graciously defeated smile. 

“So, I’m guessing that one was no good?” He asked, already knowing the answer. 

Stocking thought back to how she got into this mess, how he never even needed to resort to showing her those eyes. All he did was get on his knees and begged his best friend for advice on how to show her sister a good time. To let him take her on a practice date. She agreed knowing full well it would be painful, and apparently because she was quite the masochist. She sighed then, just as she sighed now and, in both instances, failed to meet his face. 

“Geez, you had better make it up to me.” despite the fact that she just enjoyed hanging out with him. 

Now though she was having second thoughts and Brief felt the air around her get chilly. It was probably time for a pick-me-up. She had even dressed in something cutesy, a lime green tank that ended at her midriff and khaki shorts. Something simple, vapid and cutesy airhead. More like Panty’s style. She figured he would like it. (He didn’t seem to notice the effort, the prick). 

“Why don’t uhh, we go get some ice-cream next?” He awkwardly offered. That seemed perked her up somewhat and she followed his lead. He himself was dressed casually, in faded jeans and a simple tee. He still kept his eyes under bangs but that made it more of a treat when he let them slip. It wasn’t a bad look. Certainly, much less geeky. She definitely noticed his effort. The prick. 

The ice-cream was hardly a high class. It paled in comparison to Heaven’s Delight. All it amounted to was cheap amusement park ice-cream sold at a higher price than it should’ve been. But it was cold, and it was sweet, and so it sufficed. 

The pair walked along, often with Brief pointing to a ride and suggesting it, and Stocking merely shrugging in response. They ended up not going on any. Nothing seemed appealing to a higher being like herself, the entertainment value only being fit for mortals. That, and it was loud, crowded, and the lines were long. Brief seemed to get more and more discouraged. Granted it was Stocking being as apathetic as she usually was, but he was really failing to please his fake-date. Not a good sign for when the real thing happened (If Panty would even agree to it). More than that, he was obviously making his best friend miserable, and after she agreed to do such a huge favor for him. As the hours went on, building his confidence and developing his dating skills took a back seat to trying to make her happy. Truth be told, she would’ve been much happier being somewhere quiet and alone with him. Here she couldn’t hear a damned thing. 

When the ice cream finished, Brief in an eagerness to please offered to toss her wrapper out for her. Stupidly, she found it quaint and gentlemanly, and watched him run off to the nearest bin. Then she saw something caught his eye and with a sudden excitement beckoned her to follow and he took off. She chased found him at a relatively quiet games booth, this one an airsoft shooting range. Immediately he handed over a few wads of cash to the bored looking attendant and as he took aim put on airs. His voice, he hoped, was smooth, suave and confident. 

“You know” He bent low so that his eye trailed the barrel “My father used to take me skeet shooting. He called it a man’s sport but-” A miss. “It err, wasn’t for me.” Another one. 

Brief rubbed the back of his head, embarrassed. Stocking nodded with rapt attention, drinking the sight of him down to the nail. 

“Maybe I can win something for her.” 

And sure enough he managed to land something close enough to a bullseye to win a prize. She enjoyed watching him bent, focused and determined. The smile he tossed her when he finally won was especially charming. 

It only earned him a small plush animal, a purple rabbit and he looked so earnest and proud of himself and yet somehow he missed the obvious. 

“Panty hates cute things.” He froze, wondering how he could have possibly forgotten that. “And besides, she could win her own prize easily.” Brief looked away sheepishly. “I suppose she wouldn’t be impressed by my shooting?” Stocking shook her head, a confirmation. He let the wasted effort slide right off his back. “Oh well. Stocking, would you like to keep him then?” 

He held the plush out to her. Its legs and oversized head dangled off of his hand. She looked at for a while, expression unreadable, internally churning. Finally, she closed her eyes and turned her head away but held her out open palm regardless. 

“Hmph. I suppose I shouldn’t let him go to waste.” If she concentrated, she imagined she could feel his warmth on it. She would cherish this gift forever. 

The sky started to purple. Most of the families would’ve left, leaving mostly couples huddling close together illuminated by the various lights. Couples like her and Brief strolling past toasty smelling food stalls. She was starting to see the appeal. Even so she kept her hand away from his. The tingles it would give her would be too much right now. 

“Hey Stocking.” 

“Hm?” 

“Do you want to try out the Ferris wheel?” 

He gestured out to it. It was actually sort of was beautiful with the way it loomed over the park, bright lights rotating gently. Stocking imagined the experience would be silent and intimate and dreamy. Already she felt herself giving in. She still pretended to agree begrudgingly. Her hands were cold on the walk over and she had a pretty good idea what was missing. 

There was hardly a line. In fact, everyone in the queue managed to fit onto the next rotation with empty carts to spare. They settled in across from each other. Brief relaxed into his seat and closed his eyes. Stocking gazed out the round window to watch their ascent. The lights looked better from up top. She knows she’s seen more heavenly views, but she knows that something makes this one special. The calm, the company she was in. She found herself fantasizing, pretending that all this was real, that this moment in time was a romantic one. It was killing her. His voice ripped her out of it and back to reality, and with such an innocent and naïve question to boot. 

“Do you think Panty would enjoy this?” He seemed to be lost in a fantasy as well, she could tell by the peaceful smile. And as his best friend and only as his friend, she had to be honest. 

“Nah, she’d get bored. There’s nothing to do, and she doesn’t care about taking in the sights. She’d probably just try and drag someone in here to fuck.” 

“Mm.” He didn’t seem disappointed. Instead he mulled over her advice carefully. “Thanks Stocking.” 

She stared out the window harder. Her reflection revealed the barest of pink on her cheeks, and she quashed it down, tried to bury deep how his gratitude made her feel. 

“Geez, don’t mention it.” She clipped out. She gripped the bunny tighter. He was too dense to notice a thing. If she were lucky, he’d be realizing all the ways he and her sister were incompatible. 

He drove her back to the Church. The car he had ended up buying wasn’t anything glamorous either. Possibly from a need to not stand out despite his large sums of money. It was pitch black when he arrived, and as he turned off the ignition, he turned to her. 

“So how did I do?” Though he smiled, he seemed ready to take some blows to his pride. Stocking thought about it for a while. Her silence only made him more nervous. 

“Compliment your date when they arrive.” She already found herself scowling. “And why did we go to somewhere so fuckin’ loud?” He grimaced. She continued. “There wasn’t really anything to do there. Those rides weren’t extreme enough for an Angel.” Brief chuckled softly. Having the obvious laid out sure made him feel pretty dumb. Even with the night being as quiet as it was, he still nearly missed the last things she said. 

“All in all, I had fun though.” She whispered it, with her head ducked low. He didn’t even register the words at first, but when he did a stupid grin formed and widened. 

He walked her to the door, probably playing out the kind of love he’s seen in sitcoms. Instead of a kiss he bowed deeply and thanked her again earnestly. 

“You’re a good friend, Stocking. It means a lot to me.” 

There was a genuineness about him that unraveled her time and time again. 

“R-right. Remember you owe me!” And she rushed inside and slammed the door behind her before the cracks started to show. She watched him drive away from the bedroom window, and only when she was sure he was gone, when his car became a dot in the horizon, did she allow herself a forlorn sigh.


End file.
